


support system

by spookykingdomstarlight



Category: Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Dubiously Established Relationship, Han Is Suprisingly Good With Kids, Jealousy, Lando Is Surprisingly Attracted To That Fact, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-08-27 19:42:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16708822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spookykingdomstarlight/pseuds/spookykingdomstarlight
Summary: “Calm down, would ya?” Han raised his hands and shook his head, biting back a smile as he watched Lando try to awkwardly juggle the child currently squirming around in his arms like all the kid wanted to do was get out of his grasp. There was something like terror in Lando’s eyes and the way he carried himself was so stiff that Han was fairly certain that Lando’s spine was at risk of breaking under the pressure. If Han knew this was all it took to make Lando uncomfortable, he might’ve found a baby to throw at him sooner. The guy really needed to learn a thing or two about uncomfortable situations. “It was a joke. I’m sure you’re always very careful.”





	support system

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Val_Creative](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Val_Creative/gifts).



The stabbing sound of the drills filled Han’s fevered brain with throbbing, unexpected pain. The noise sent him crashing to the floor as he flailed and cursed, hissing as he was unceremoniously pulled to consciousness by sharp, torturous awls. Bang bang bang. It took Han a long moment to realize the drills weren’t actually drills and were, in fact, the sound of a fist pounding against his door instead, but the damage was already done. Whatever mistakes he’d hoped to sleep off were still with him, sloshing around his brain.

Groaning, he pulled the sheet from the bed and wrapped it around his midsection. Modesty at all costs. Who knew what was behind the door. It was certainly demanding enough to be Imperials and, if it was, he was damned if he would be showing off the goods to them any time soon. “Alright, alright,” he said, the words mushy and unformed in his mouth because it was easier to mumble than to enunciate. Even his teeth hurt. Stars, what in the hell did he do last night? Nothing to warrant this, he was sure.

Sparing a glance back at the bed—company wasn’t his usual modus operandi, but one could never be sure, could they—he pushed himself to his feet.

And nearly tipped over again as his stomach performed an unfortunate series of anatomically improbable flips in his abdomen. Swallowing around the thick knot in his throat, he breathed through his nose and straightened. There was a twinge in his hip from where he struck the floor and if it wasn’t Imperials behind this door, he was thinking very seriously of decking them for adding yet another layer to his misery.

Kriff, he hurt everywhere. And he was more than happy to make his visitor hurt everywhere, too.

Palming the controls, he braced himself for what awaited and thought maybe he should’ve grabbed his blaster from his holster. Just in case.

And then the screeching wails of hell itself accosted him and he realized he hadn’t known the true meaning of pain until this moment. His eardrums were liable to shatter at the caterwauling that confronted him. It was so all-encompassing that his first instinct was to cover his ears. Which he very nearly did until he remembered that he was holding his single shred of dignity between his fists.

So he did the rational thing. Which was shut the kriffing door. Not that it completely blotted out the sound, no. Han wasn’t that lucky. But at the very least it was muffled. And that meant Han could think. And regain his bearings. And contemplate how best to kill the source of that unholy screaming.

Trudging back toward the bed, his thoughts caught up with him and he turned back and opened the door, plucking the tiny source of the sounds from the arms of Lando Calrissian himself before shutting the door again. It quieted immediately and wriggled in the space between Han’s arm and his torso and it was nice for one blessed moment until he realized—

Slamming open the door again, he grabbed Lando by the fabric of his retreating cape and yanked him inside, too. “Now wait a second,” Lando was trying to say, but too late. Han might’ve still been in the slow, stupid stages of hangoverdom, but he knew trouble when he saw it and he knew when someone was gonna try to sneak away from it. “You took the kid fair and square.”

Oh, gods. It was a kid, wasn’t it? Blinking, wishing he could rub the thick crust of sleep from his eyes, he glanced down at the bundle in his arms. Large-and-blue-headed, red-eyed, and incredibly tiny, Lando’s assessment seemed correct: it was a kid. It was an unhappy kid if the wobble of its thin, lipless mouth was anything to go by. “Congratulations,” Han said, pushing the kid back into Lando’s reluctant arms. This was way, way above his pay grade. “He looks just like you.”

Now Lando’s lips were the ones thinning in unhappiness. It really was uncanny. Maybe next he’d start yelling, too. “He’s not mine.”

“You’ll forgive me if I don’t believe you,” Han answered, feigning a lightness he did not feel as he rummaged around in his gear for a painkiller. What he wouldn’t have given for a dose of anti-veis or myocaine. Instead, he had what every reprobate in the galaxy had: a bit of detox serum and a prayer. He had to keep all the good shit in reserves for when he actually got hurt. “It was only a matter of time before one of those oats you sowed came back to grace you with his tiny, adorable presence.” Sure, it might have made a fresh wave of pain crest through his head to get his voice pitched that high, but it was well worth it when he looked up at Lando and found a thundercloud brewing all around him. “Isn’t that right, little man?”

“Han, give me some credit here. Not that it’s any of your business, but—”

“Calm down, would ya?” Han raised his hands and shook his head, biting back a smile as he watched Lando try to awkwardly juggle the child currently squirming around in his arms like all the kid wanted to do was get out of his grasp. There was something like terror in Lando’s eyes and the way he carried himself was so stiff that Han was fairly certain that Lando’s spine was at risk of breaking under the pressure. If Han knew this was all it took to make Lando uncomfortable, he might’ve found a baby to throw at him sooner. The guy really needed to learn a thing or two about uncomfortable situations. “It was a joke. I’m sure you’re always very careful.”

And anyway. It wasn’t like there were a whole lot of half-Durosian children floating around the galaxy. It was entirely possible humans and Duros weren’t even biologically compatible in that way. It wasn’t like Han was an expert on reproductive science and technology. Though given how often this sort of thing happened to the kind of people Han associated with, maybe he should.

“Damn right I am!” And if there was a hint of desperation in his tone, Han absolutely, one-hundred percent, for a certain did not relish it. Han just wasn’t that kind of guy. In fact, he felt a bit bad for Lando. Back when he was still on Corellia, he sometimes found himself responsible for the younger scrumrats around and it’d never been easy. In fact, Han had been terrible at it. Still couldn’t shake the feeling he didn’t belong around children. It came as a surprise to him how viscerally that sensation hit him now that he was thinking about it.

Going back to finding something that might ease this headache was a whole lot easier than approaching that particular tangle of memories. Keeping his eyes down on his gear, he fought the urge to frown. “How’d you end up with him anyway?”

“Honestly?” And Lando sounded so defeated when he sighed that Han had to look up and make sure Lando was okay. “I don’t know. I was enjoying a spectacular morning after an equally spectacular night and when I went to leave my hotel room…” Relaxing his grip on the baby slightly, Lando waved his hand to encompass the entirety of the child currently trying to mount and cross the expanse of Lando’s shoulder. “He was sitting on the chair in a booster seat to keep him from getting away.” He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a piece of flimsi. “And this.”

Han took the note and read it, tossing the sheet aside when he was done.

I’ll be back in a few days. Promise. - K

Yeah, uh huh. That was likely.

Giving up entirely on the possibility of actually finding his detox serum, he pushed himself to his feet and pretended that his head wasn’t swimming. Putting his hand out, he leaned against the wall and dragged a deep, not particularly cleansing breath into his lungs. He couldn’t remember when the bar opened up, but maybe someone down there would do him a solid and make up a drink for him. Sometimes the best way out was through, right? And with Lando standing here, he was gonna need something strong. “And why did you think to come here? This ain’t a hotel. Hell, I’m not even certain you started out on the same planet as I did.”

“No, actually. I was here. Not here here. But—across town.”

“And you couldn’t impose on one of your friends who can actually afford to keep a room at the kind of places you stay at?”

Grimacing, Lando plucked the kid from his shoulder and returned him to the crook of his elbow. At that, the kid huffed and opened his mouth to wail again. Han was starting to sympathize. He didn’t like the jerk around either. “I wouldn’t call those people friends.”

Though Lando obviously didn’t mean it the way it sounded, Han couldn’t help the thrill of warmth that went through him at the thought that Lando might not actually hate him as much as he pretended to. It might’ve been sad and Han would’ve been the first one to admit it—okay, no he wouldn’t have—but he wanted Lando to like him. Almost always had. Maybe not at first, when he was trying to take half the cut that first time they met, but after that? After that, he had to admit he liked the guy. Anyone who coveted a ship like the _Falcon_ was worth liking. Anyone who treated her as well as he had was worth liking.

But Lando had put the brakes on that. Hard. Immediately. And every run in since then had been fraught at the very best. If not downright antagonistic.

Weird as this was, it was probably their most pleasant conversation since that time they talked about the _Falcon_ and Corellia and Han’s dad of all things. And it wasn’t that Han didn’t want to be grateful for the chance, but—bad timing. And with a kid. That was way more serious than Han intended on being today.

“And what would you call me?” Han asked, hoping the throbbing in his blood was only the hangover and not his heart doing funny things to his insides. That wasn’t the kind of relationship they had, he and Lando, not that he wouldn’t have liked it to be. He already had pathetic, complicated feelings about Lando as it was. His own imagination certainly wasn’t helping matters in the slightest.

“Trustworthy,” Lando admitted, free of conceit, and wasn’t that a shockingly good look for him? None of the prettiest words in his repertoire could beat that kind of honesty. It was stupid of Han to be so affected by the admission. And yet.

“Aw, listen to you, you smooth talker,” Han said, somehow unable to help himself. He blamed the alcohol. That was a totally legitimate excuse. “Let me, uh, get some clothes on and we’ll see what we can do about solving your little problem here. Not like I had anything better to do today anyway.”

Lando’s mouth dropped open and his eyes widened and he looked down at the kid in his arms. “You’re serious?”

“You did come all the way across town,” Han said, grabbing some clothes from his bag. “What kind of person would I be if I turned you out now?”

Though Lando looked as though he wanted to say something, he just stood there, projecting his dubiousness all over the place. Smart of him. Whatever it was he was thinking, it probably wasn’t very complimentary. Like Han needed to know he was making a dumb decision here. What the hell did he know about children? And one from Duro at that? Utterly ridiculous to think he’d be of any assistance whatsoever. At best he could ask a few of his sources if they knew anyone missing a kid. Or, more likely, wanted to get rid of one.

If Han felt a twinge of something in his gut at the thought of that, anger and guilt and a deep, terrible sadness, he didn’t have to share that with anyone either. The kid wasn’t at fault here. And even if Han was hoping to impress Lando by actually helping him, the kid deserved some assistance, too.

“Han,” Lando said, sounding about as emotional as Han had ever heard him as he stepped toward Han, “thanks.”

Smiling, Han clapped him on the shoulder, and then cuffed the kid under the chin. “You’ll owe me one. No big deal. Who’s ‘K’ anyway?”

Lando’s attention shifted to the wall, which meant it was probably a paramour or a one-night stand, a tryst that Han absolutely wasn’t jealous about, not at all. Han wasn’t Lando’s type anyway probably; he just didn’t dress nicely enough for him. Or, you know, let him keep the ship he loved best. Han couldn’t blame him, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have a few regrets in his back pocket. “Doesn’t matter. He’s gone. Probably for good.”

Well, at least Lando wasn’t a complete idiot in this respect. “Yeah,” Han said. There was that twinge again. It really wasn’t the kid’s fault at all. And here he was, stuck with a couple of clowns like them. “Tough break.” But there wasn’t a whole lot Han could do until he had some modesty back. “Just—give me a second and we’ll figure it out. Maybe starting with figuring out what Duros eat when they’re babies.” He jerked his head toward the comm unit on the wall. He didn’t really have the funds to pay for Holonet access, but there wasn’t a whole lot of choice in the matter, was there? Not unless Han wanted to start answering a whole lot of questions he wasn’t ready to deal with yet.

“Yeah,” Lando said, weak, like he was a little bit sick at the thought of being by himself with the kid again. And though Han had ideas of maybe taking a quick shower, he supposed a quick run through the sonics would have to do. Even if the thought did make his head ache even more.

“You’ll be fine,” Han said. “Kids don’t bite. Generally. Sort of. It’ll be okay.”

Lando huffed and rolled his eyes. “I’m more worried about the kid being okay. I don’t exactly know what I’m doing here.”

“Good news. I don’t think anyone does.” But Lando didn’t seem all that convinced by Han’s candor and Han found himself uncomfortable imagining Lando being this uncertain of himself. “Look, kids are resilient, okay? You’re not gonna ruin him in the span of fifteen minutes. And anyway, I’ll be right back. If anything does happen, you can yell through the door.” And though it was still odd to him that Lando was looking to him in all this, he felt proud, too. In fact, he wanted to get this right. Whatever right ended up being in this instance. “You might catch an eyeful, but I’m willing to help regardless.”

That, at least, got a smile out of Lando. “I guess there are worse things that could happen,” he admitted, eyes drifting from Han’s face to his chest. But Lando was a gentleman; they didn’t go any further south than that.

A pity, maybe.

Not that Han was willing to think of it in those terms. Down that path lay all sorts of disappointment.

Let it never be said Han Solo wasn’t unlucky in love.

By the time he came back—ten minutes later, if that, and feeling a little bit better for it—Lando was still looking very much as though he wanted to shatter into a thousand pieces, but he’d sat down at the terminal and was so focused on the screen that Han was able to study him without Lando being any the wiser. A rare opportunity, that, especially when it was obvious how in over his head Lando seemed to think he was. His shirt was askew and the cape he’d chosen was wrinkled and didn’t quite match the rest of his outfit. Though Han wouldn’t have gone so far as to say he looked unkempt, he certainly seemed more at his wit’s end than usual.

Han, ironically enough, found it charming.

After a moment, Han cleared his throat, startling Lando and sending the baby into a fit of hysterics that made Han wince. “Whoops,” he said, frowning apologetically. “Here, let me.” By way of unspoken apology, he took the kid and held him securely to his chest, rocking back and forth the way some of the younger kids used to like back on Corellia. Though the kid fussed and whined a bit, the sounds a bit strange, but not unfamiliar. It was easy to tell across species when babies were unhappy and this one still was, even if he seemed a bit calmer as Han bounced him. “Does he have a name?”

“Yeah,” Lando said, “I’m assuming. Don’t know what it is though. Keridan didn’t exactly leave me with all the pertinent information. Such as what to do with him or why he was leaving him with me or where he’d gone to get him because he sure as hell wasn’t there last night when we—” Clearing his throat, Lando coughed delicately into his fist. “I don’t know anything about the kid other than he doesn’t like me much.”

“Pity,” Han said, filing the name away. The world Han and Lando moved in was small, but the name didn’t register with Han anyway. Maybe Lando’s world _was_ a little bigger. A little smarmy, he added, “I happen to like you just fine.”

With a groan, Lando proceeded to ignore all further attempts at conversation in favor of reading up on Durosian babies. Must’ve been a fascinating topic, because he let Han and the kid do their own thing for what felt like hours even if it was probably only another five minutes or so. If Han didn’t want to be dramatic about it anyway. Han only tried to occupy himself with looking at Lando for so long before he had to turn away. “Don’t want to make a fool of myself,” Han said, quiet, to the kid. “I’ve already done more than enough of that with Lando to last a lifetime.”

“Did you say something?” Lando asked, distracted.

“Not to you. Just talking to Dee, here. Isn’t that right?” Han let his voice go high again. Mostly because it made the muscles in Lando’s face jump because of how tightly he held his jaw.

“You sound ridiculous when you do that.”

“You always think I’m ridiculous though. That’s hardly the insult you think it is.”

The screen powered down with a press of Lando’s finger against the console. Lando pushed himself up and brushed his hands over his shirt and stared openly at Han again. Like he was a freak or something. “Did you just call the kid, ‘Dee?’”

“Maybe.” And Han wasn’t going to be shamed for it either. “We gotta call him something, right? Can’t just keep calling him kid the whole time.”

“There’s nothing stopping us from doing exactly that,” Lando said, which was technically true. But Han wasn’t interested in arguing about it. They had more important things to do, like figure out exactly what it was they were going to do with this little guy. When Han looked down at him, the kid was looking back up in turn, like he was asking himself that very same question. Were Durosian eyes always this expressive? Han wasn’t so sure. He’d run into enough Duros to know they could be serious business pilots and bounty hunters and that was about it. He’d never seen one on the verge of tears though.

“Anyway,” Han said. “Moving on. Just what is it Durosian children like to eat?” And how much money was it going to cost them? And why did Chewie pick this as the one week he decided he wanted to take off on his own? He’d have been able to help. If nothing else, he could probably have charmed his way into finding someone who could take care of Dee for them.

“Apparently fish is good for them. But anything humans can eat is fine.” At that admission, Lando squirmed and frowned. There wasn’t a body of water on this entire planet that could sustain a population of fish that was edible to humans. And apparently Duros. That was just great. So they were gonna have to pay an import tax if they wanted to help the kid get the nutrition he needed because who knew what Keridan had been doing with him before that.

“Does Dee look a little small to you?”

“No?” But Lando squinted and tilted his head. “I don’t know. I guess it depends on how old he is, doesn’t it?”

“We could take him to a doctor.” Han ignored the part of his mind that was calculating just how much this was all going to cost him. “They’d be able to do a scan and tell us.” And then probably take the baby off their hands and find out where it came from and then send him right back. Or send him to the authorities. And who knew what they would do. Send him to an orphanage maybe. Or let a criminal organization scoop him up and turn him into a tiny child slave who’ll be beholden to them until they find a way out. No, better for Han to figure out the safest place for him. It wasn’t the kid’s fault he’d ended up in Lando’s and his hands.

Poor guy. Didn’t stand much of a chance with them on the case. Seriously, what in the hell.

“No,” Han said after a moment’s thought about it. “No doctors. Not unless he actually seems like he’s getting sick or something.” When Han held the kid out a little, the kid looked okay to him. Like any other Duros Han had ever seen. Except small and sad.

“Well, great. There goes the one reasonable idea you had. So what are we doing instead?” Crossing his arms, Lando stared down at the kid like he was a bomb that was moments from going off. Despite himself, Han found it charming. Mostly because the look of consternation on his face was adorable.

“Food first. Then some toys maybe?” Where the hell were they going to get toys? “I hope you brought your credit chit.”

With a roll of his eyes and a grimace of unhappiness, Lando gestured toward the door. “I’ve got some spare change lying around for just this occasion.”

A weight lifted from Han’s shoulders that he hadn’t even realized he was carrying. Good. So Han didn’t have to foot the bill. That was very, very good. And Lando was a smart, smart man. Passing as close to Lando as he cared, Han patted him on the cheek and shifted quickly aside when Lando reached out to swat him. “I knew you were a good guy underneath all that finery.”

Though Lando proceeded to complain about Han’s comment as they entered the hallway and then out into the street where the bustle of the day was starting in earnest. The bright sunlight made Han hiss, headache rearing up real ugly like right behind his eyes, and all Lando did was laugh at him for it. Han should’ve been annoyed at that, but he found it was nice to walk down the street with Lando at his side. Even if there was a squirmy child in his arms who maybe wanted to stage an escape.

“Did you change him at all?” Han asked.

“Change him into what?”

“Stars,” Han said. No wonder the kid was so pissed off even if it had settled down some. This was gonna be fun. Searching the street, he tried to pinpoint the storefront that was most likely to have what they needed and found himself confronted with… a whole lot of bars and cantinas and watering holes masquerading as legitimate restaurants. This really, really wasn’t how he’d planned to spend his day and he definitely wasn’t even in the right frame of mind for it. Everything was still a little foggy and he felt slow-witted, numbed and blunted by the lingering alcohol and dehydration. And here Lando didn’t know even a little bit about what he should’ve been doing with this kid. Han wasn’t much better, but still. “Come on,” he added when he spotted a restaurant that looked like it might have been the kind of place that would have a restroom that wouldn’t entirely leave them in the lurch. “This is the worst planet to have gotten stuck on with a kid, didya know that?”

“I think every planet is that planet,” Lando pointed out, “but sure, I’ll trust you on that.”

Ducking in, Han looked both ways and quickly crossed the lobby to the ‘fresher, turning slightly so it wouldn’t be obvious he had a kid in his arms. There really wasn’t any reason why he should’ve done that, but it was habit. Kids back where he grew up, they sometimes found themselves taken simply because they were easy to move, easy to sell. Han fully believed he could take care of anybody who might try, but the muscle memory remained and didn’t want to let up. And Han didn’t want to do that, start a fight, not with Lando here and this kid and the knowledge fresh in his mind that he didn’t mind either of those facts nearly as much as he should.

A scan of the ‘fresher yielded no obvious assistance at first. It was always a crap shoot as to whether you could expect a washdroid and Han was out of practice recognizing those places. But another look around told him he was luckier than he had a right to be. Right under the sink was an old-fashioned kit that contained an autocleaner for diapers.

“Ha,” he said, pushing the kid into Lando’s unhappy arms. “We’re in luck. Get him out of those clothes, will you?”

This time, Lando didn’t complain all that much, which Han was grateful for. Until the kid was handed off, they were just going to have to deal with him. And the sooner Lando got comfortable with that the better. As Han fiddled with the dusty, old unit, he watched Lando and marveled anew at the ridiculousness of the situation. When he thought Han wasn’t looking, he seemed to be handling everything just fine. With much less fussiness than Han expected anyway. Sure, he wasn’t the most graceful of childcare providers, but he was doing all right as he slipped the jacket and onesie from Dee’s little body.

Then, he frowned when he realized exactly what it was Han was going to ask next. Han couldn’t quite stifle the laugh when Lando’s eyes scanned the sink for a soap dispenser—at least, that was what Han assumed he was looking for. It was what Han was pretending he also didn’t want.

This planet. Not a good place for kids. Or anyone else.

“Yeah, I know,” Han said, snapping his fingers and gesturing, ‘gimme.’ “But it’ll be clean in a second. And there are some wipes.” With the words now out there in the world, he decided to verify that fact and felt a wave of cool, blissful relief when it turned out there was. They might have been ancient, but they existed and they were still sealed up, so they were probably good. And he traded them away for the wet, soggy cloth diaper Dee’d been wearing. “Clean him up, too, huh?”

Lando opened his mouth as though to argue, but instead, he went ahead and placed Dee on the edge of the sink. Though Han fully expected him to squeal at the unexpected coldness, he just sat there as Lando pulled one of the wipes free and tipped Dee over with careful hands. Meanwhile, Han dumped the diaper in the autocleaner and waited, relieved that one thing had gone right today. In his world, that was an unexpected luxury. When Lando caught him looking at him, Han was forced to look away, a blush forming on his cheeks. The warmth of his skin deepened and it was entirely likely his face was red, his embarrassment obvious. The knowledge that Lando had noticed weighed heavily on him, as it always did when Lando noticed something Han didn’t necessarily want him to notice.

Self-preservation was an important pursuit; and keeping himself safe from Lando’s charms was one of the smartest things he could do under these or any circumstances. It was just the smart bet. Letting Lando know he had something over on you was never a good idea. It gave him ideas, grandiose ones, and though he’d always dismissed Han before, Han wasn’t ready for him to do anything except dismiss him.

It was for the best.

There was no honor among thieves and Han had had enough betrayal to last a lifetime. As it was, he could respect Lando; he didn’t want anything else from him, nothing that Han’s own imagination could provide without strings, that was to say.

“How do you know what you’re doing anyway?” Lando asked just as the cleaner trilled out that it was done in a clear, short tone. He waited patiently for Han to hand him the warm, clean, and, most importantly, dry cloth and didn’t even fuss that he had to put it back on. And he did so easily, his fingers learning the correct fold quickly. He did even better than Han would have, who’d never much been good at it anyway. “I didn’t really think…”

“You came begging for my help and didn’t even know I’d be able to help? That’s nice.” Han pushed himself to his feet and shoved the unit back into place with the toe of his boot. “Look, don’t worry about why. It’s a boring story. Just accept that I’ve dealt with kids in my time and move on. We’ll both be happier that way.”

“Will we?” Lando’s eyes narrowed and he picked Dee back up. “Or do you just not want to tell me?”

“Because I have no reason to want to keep my business to myself? Look, it doesn’t matter.” He leaned in and inspected Dee’s face. Even if he still wasn’t very fond of Lando, he wasn’t fussing. That was worth something. “You don’t have to care about it. Kid still needs food. Let’s work on that next and then we’ll figure out where to go from here, okay?”

Lando looked very much like he wanted to argue, his mouth going flat as he refrained from asking any more questions. “Fine,” he settled on. “But you’re taking Dee back.”

“That’s just fine with me,” Han said, not even a little bit surprised. What did surprise him, though, was how much nicer it felt having the kid in his arms, warm and small, smelling cleaner than he had any reason to given the fact that neither he nor Lando had seen fit to give him an actual bath. Babies were something else. Han didn’t know how people lived with them—he knew his own limits, what he could do about and for kids—but he supposed he could see the appeal somewhat. A twinging feeling of contentment tugged at him, one he had to stomp down as best he could.

Getting food for the kid was actually the easiest part of the whole endeavor and they soon found themselves with no further reason to remain outside, avoiding the truly difficult part of this whole endeavor: figuring out what to do with the kid long term. It was easy to pretend this was all normal while they had an external goal. Now, back at Han’s shitty, temporary accommodations, it was a whole lot more difficult to see this as anything other than a very big problem. As Han munched on a snack of dubious origins that was purported to be noodles but was probably something more like reconstituted vegetable matter, he shook his head and cast a glance Dee’s way. Fed and watered, he was contentedly sleeping, thin, shabby pillows stacked around him to keep him from falling off the sides of the bed. Han stretched just enough to reach the kid, squeezing his foot once as he burbled his way through what Han hoped was a good dream. “We can’t just abandon the kid. Who knows what the authorities will do with him?”

“They’ll take care of him is what they’ll do.”

“When have you ever seen the authorities take care of anybody?” Then, as soon as Lando opened his mouth, Han raised his finger to shush him. “And not the kind of people who need to be taken care of. I already know Imps can take care of people who don’t need a whole lot out of them in the first place. That’s the point.”

Lando rolled his eyes. “Not everywhere is Corellia, Han,” he said, sounding a little sad, which was weird and discomfiting. “But I get it, okay? You don’t want the kid to end up slipping between the cracks. That’s… commendable.” The way he said it made it sound like it was anything but, but Han didn’t know enough about Lando’s thought processes to truly understand what he was saying instead. “But we have to start somewhere. Seems as good an idea as any to check out the social services around here.”

“Nonexistent probably.” Han frowned and got up to look out the window. Pulling aside the grungy drapes, he peered down at the street. Everyone looked a little worse for wear down there. And that was the people who hadn’t had to resort to crime. How much worse was the local underbelly? Probably not Corellia bad, as Lando said, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t entirely awful in its own right. “Do you know if he’s even from here?”

“Funnily enough, Keridan didn’t think to leave his naturalization paperwork with him. I don’t know where he’s from or where he belongs or what he’s doing here if he wasn’t born here.”

Han pinched the bridge of his nose and was almost, almost tempted to ask Lando to go into business with him. They could be the only two smugglers in the galaxy who accidentally had a baby. Chewie would love it. Especially having extra sets of hands around to help out with repairs. And Lando already knew the _Falcon’s_ quirks. It was great.

Except for how Chewie would pull Han’s arms out of their sockets and beat him with them if he tried to bring a baby on board even if Lando would be useful.

Grinding his palms into his eyes, Han bent forward, head almost between his knees. He was able to think a little bit better this way, the myriad distractions around him fading as he contemplated just how fucked his situation was. So much of him did just want to do what Lando suggested and trust the system to place the kid somewhere he’d be safe and comfortable. But they both knew that wasn’t how the real world worked. Still, Han couldn’t exactly blame Lando for wanting an expedient option, could he? If Han wanted to, he could walk away; he was just doing Lando a solid after all. It was onto Lando’s head this would all fall if they didn’t get it figured out. And even if Lando could be as selfish as the rest of them, he wasn’t the sort to just abandon a kid.

Possibly because Han was taking too long or possibly because he was just getting impatient, Lando huffed and went over to the comm again, began poking at the Holonet like it might have all the answers they needed. Han simply took the opportunity to watch Lando, peering at him while he got a serious look on his face and bit his lip and looked so good that it made Han ache for something he’d never get out of Lando. Han spared a glance for Dee, who was still asleep, and managed to feel more alone than he’d been in a long, long time.

Funny, that. Given how alone he normally was, this shouldn’t have phased him in the slightest.

He reached out and wrapped his fingers around Dee’s foot, allowed himself to enjoy the warmth of Dee’s body, obvious even through the layer of cloth that covered it and the rest of him. There was no way he could hide his smile when Dee’s face scrunched up a bit and he kicked out a bit, all while still asleep. Unsure how long he’d been at it, he only came back to himself when Lando cleared his throat. Embarrassed to have been caught, it was somehow worse when he turned and looked up at Lando.

Unsure what it was he was seeing there, but sure as hell knowing what it did to his insides, he had to look away again. “You find something?” he asked, gruff, patting Dee one last time before scooting away from him again.

“Keridan sent me another message,” Lando said. There was a rustle as he shifted, a creak as he climbed to his feet and crossed the floor. He stopped before he could quite reach Han, but all Han wanted was for him to bridge that distance. “He’s planning on coming back for the kid.”

“And you believe him?” If Han was in a less charitable mood, he would have asked if Lando just wanted to believe him or if there was actually some truth to it.

“He’s a good guy,” Lando said, “in general.”

“Because you only engage with good guys,” Han replied, pretending he wasn’t asking himself just how good he had to be to get Lando’s attention. But that was a path Han really wasn’t interested in going down, not like this. “Right.”

“If he does come back,” Lando said, placating, “we can’t exactly stop him. We don’t have any rights to the kid. It’s his kid.”

“That he abandoned.”

“That he left with me for a few days,” Lando said, kinder than Han might have expected. Or wanted. He didn’t like the soft look Lando got in his eyes then. It meant no end of trouble. “It’s not his fault if I misconstrued.”

“What the hell was he even doing then?”

“Apparently there was a big job a few cities over.” Here, Lando paused and frowned and squinted up at the ceiling. “He didn’t think he could trust me with it, I guess, but it was an unexpected gig. Didn’t have babysitting arranged and didn’t want to take the kid with him. I guess under the circumstances I can’t blame him.”

Han opened his mouth, closed it again. And though he didn’t want to consider the point, he was fairly certain he suddenly got Keridan a lot more than he did before. Hell, if Han had to choose someone to leave a kid with, Lando might’ve been his first choice, too. Well, maybe not now that he knew Lando thought he was terrible with kids and didn’t trust himself around them, but compared to a lot of the people Han associated with, Chewie exempted, Lando was the least likely to sell the kid off for drinking money.

Annoyed with himself and the situation, Han crossed his arms. “Fine,” Han said, wishing he was relieved at the very least that they wouldn’t have to find a place for Dee. Because he really, really didn’t think there was anything on this planet like suitable social services. This wasn’t a Core World. It wasn’t a place the Empire or the Senate gave a single damn about. “I guess that solves that problem.”

“I thought you’d be happier about this,” Lando admitted. Eyes narrowing, he got to his feet and came over to sit at Han’s side. His gaze drifted to Dee for a moment, thoughtful, and something like the dumbest flare of hope flickered to life inside of Han. And he knew it was stupid, could see the spill coming from kilometers off, the road rash his feelings would take if he let himself harbor that hope, but Lando was so close to him and he always, always got a little sentimental when the people he liked best were in close proximity. Here he was, close enough that Han could smell his cologne. It was familiar by now; they’d crossed paths so often. All Han would have had to do was lean in and…

“I am happy,” Han said, a fabrication, but less of one than he would have liked it to be. After all, Lando was here and Dee apparently had a parent who wasn’t quite as terrible as Han had feared. Trying to summon a smile, he thought maybe he managed a slightly insistent quirk instead. Something close enough that anyone who wasn’t looking might pass it off as the real deal.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this down,” Lando said. Maybe that was true. He’d left Savereen before either of them knew what was coming. And ever since then, he’d kept a tighter lid on himself. Even when he ran into Lando, he kept himself in control. Or as in control as a smuggler ever needed to be. He’d been angry in Lando’s presence, sure. Annoyed, definitely. Exceedingly happy. But he’d never seen Han at his most disappointed.

“That kid was gonna be trouble,” Han insisted. “I knew that. I’m glad his dad’s not a deadbeat.” And that much was true. There was little worse in the galaxy than a father who didn’t care about his child. Han knew that from experience. And he wasn’t in a place where he could be a father even if he wanted to be. Which he didn’t. Not yet anyway. Maybe not ever. For the most part, he liked his life, missing pieces though it was. “Really, it’s fine.”

“Then what’s the problem?” And Lando, a bastard but probably an unknowing one, threw his arm around Han’s shoulders, like this was something that they did. It took all of Han’s self-control to neither lean into the touch nor flinch away. If he did either of those things, Lando would pick up on it immediately and Han didn’t want that. Lando was paying too much attention to him as it was. If he had any idea what Han was thinking or wanting… it wouldn’t make this one of the better days he’s ever had, that was for sure. “Seriously. I don’t like to worry about the likes of you, you old scoundrel, but I’m starting to get the feeling I missed something here. You know how much I hate that.”

“I hate to break it to you, but you’ve missed a whole lot in your life,” Han said. It wasn’t bitter exactly, but it wasn’t not bitter either. The fact of the matter was Lando chose to see what he wanted to see—most often, a profit. “You probably just haven’t noticed.”

“Ha.” Lando barked out a sarcastic, halting laugh as he pressed his weight into Han’s body. That closeness did not make Han’s heart do a somersault; it absolutely, one-hundred percent did not. “You’re not anywhere near as funny as you think you are.”

Dee burbled in his sleep and startled himself awake, releasing an ear-splitting howl that threatened to remind Han that he was maybe kind of still hungover. Wincing, he reached for the kid, and found Lando getting to his feet and clapping him on the arm.

“I’ll get him,” Lando said, soft, surprisingly so. Scooping Dee up, he turned and made a rocking motion as he made a wide arc around Han’s body to sit next to him again. It was cute enough to make Han flush with pleasure, pleasure he knew he had absolutely no right to feel. Because what did it mean, really? Nothing. There wasn’t a damned thing he could do with it, not when Lando didn’t want him back, not when he’d never shown the slightest bit of interest in Han in return. It was a pleasure that could go nowhere. And sure, Han had gone down that route before, but he knew better now, knew it wouldn’t help, knew he would’ve been better served by squashing it entirely. Then Lando looked at him again, really looked, and Han felt as though he was pinned to a board, ready to be observed at close range. “You’re going to have to tell me what your problem is eventually, you know.”

“I don’t think I have to do any such thing.” Scooting further up the bed, Han leaned back and held his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling. “It’s not your business. And anyway, I don’t have a problem.”

“Yeah, I’m not buying that for a second. We’re friends, Han. The least I can do is—” But before he could say what the least he could do was, the kid started fussing up a storm. Lando made a whole lot of noises at the kid in return, bounced and rocked the kid in Han’s peripheral vision. Han couldn’t help but think that the kid was doing him a favor right now, knew somehow that Han didn’t want to talk about this and stepped in in the only way he knew how.

Were they friends, really? Han would have liked to believe it, but there weren’t a whole lot of friendships being built in their line of work. Han had Chewie, of course, but that was something special, not easily replicated. And though Han had some very inconvenient feelings for Lando, he wasn’t entirely sure any of them constituted a friendship.

He would have liked that, he imagined, having Lando as a friend. But they’d screwed one another over so many times that what they were was probably something else entirely, something different and uncomfortable. Friendship was a nice thought in the midst of that. Friendship was easy. The fact that Lando believed they were friends… Han wanted to believe it, too.

Lando sighed and sat again, close enough that Han could’ve reached out and pulled him down next to him if he’d wanted to. And he did want to. So much. But he managed to stay his hand.

Always wanting things he couldn’t or shouldn’t have wanted, that was Han, but he was done with that now. No point in pursuing it. Surely Lando would have understood.

Didn’t stop Han from admiring the view a bit while Lando was distracted, staring down at the kid and waving his hand in the kid’s face as some form of distraction. Dee’s eyes followed the motion of his hand, wide in the way all Duros’s eyes were wide, his face turning from side to side with each movement. Dee was fascinated by it and Han couldn’t blame him.

Lando always had been mesmerizing.

Not that Han was thinking about that or what else Lando could be doing with his hands instead.

“So,” Lando said, offhand, so casual that Han was only half paying attention to his words. “Are you ever going to admit it?”

Han closed his eyes, tired of staring at Lando and the ceiling in turns. Maybe he could take a nap like this, wait out the hours until Keridan came and got his son. Then he wouldn’t have to worry about any of this. Lando would go back to whatever it was he was doing; Han could go back to what he was doing, which was a whole lotta well earned nothing, and everything would go back to normal. Han liked normal. Normal was good. “Admit to what?”

Later, Han might have admitted that he wasn’t really paying attention to what Lando was asking him when he answered and, also later, he might have said he wished he’d been paying more of it. He always got in trouble when he wasn’t paying attention after all. Made him miss all the most obvious things.

Like the way Lando leaned toward him and kissed him. His lips were insistent, serious, and with his arms full of Dee, Han could have easily backed out of the touch, could have stopped Lando and asked him just what in the hell he was thinking. But he didn’t. Because even though he had no idea what in the hell Lando was playing at, he wanted it and whatever Lando was willing to give to him besides. Han was a selfish man after all. And a foolish one. And he didn’t always know how to protect himself.

So he hoped Lando had a good hold on the kid as he brought his hands up to frame Lando’s face, his skin warm and smooth and soft beneath Han’s dry, cracked touch. Question after question raced through his mind. Why this? Why now? What in the hell was Han supposed to do when Lando stopped? How in the hell was he supposed to let Lando stop at all? They were all questions, however, that current Han was perfectly willing to leave future Han to deal with.

His thumbs brushed over the sharp line of Lando’s cheekbones and his fingers skated down to settle on Lando’s neck, just under his jaw where he could feel Lando’s pulse beating against his palms. It was exciting to him, enough to send need pulsing through in time with Lando’s heart. Nervous energy flickered over his skin, making him feel everything so much more deeply, everything from the cool caress of air as the fans kicked on to the texture of Lando’s shimmersilk shirt against his forearm. Though he tried to remind himself that there was a kid to think about, he couldn’t help pulling Lando a little closer, reveling in Lando’s groaning huff of breath as Han tipped his chin up for better access to his mouth. It was a sound Han would’ve liked to hear forever. At the earliest opportunity.

There was a lot Han would’ve done to keep Lando making that kind of noise. And all sorts of other things in order to discover all the other ways Lando could sound under the circumstance.

“Stars,” Lando said against Han’s lips, finding a natural break even as Han tried to chase the taste from Lando’s tongue anyway. He couldn’t get enough, didn’t want Lando to pull away. He sounded a little dazed and a whole lot surprised. “Where’d you learn to do that?”

If Han felt any pride at all for having managed to reduce Lando to that, he sure as hell didn’t have to say as much. Puffing up, he dragged his thumb across Lando’s lower lip. Lando’s mouth followed and he nipped at the pad, playful, in a way that felt so perfectly intimate that Han almost asked him to do it again. “I know a thing or two,” Han said. “It shouldn’t come as a shock to you.”

Lando raised his eyes and his eyebrow arched in subtle disagreement. “I don’t want to bring up any sad memories for you,” he said, delicate even if his words weren’t, “but the last girl you pined for walked out on you after you spent three years looking for her.”

“When you say it like that, you make me sound like I’m inexperienced or something.” Han could’ve laughed at the concern Lando was showing. Han could easily have assumed the worst, but he thought he knew what Lando was getting at. It was nothing Han couldn’t fault himself for. He did fall weirdly, insistently in love with certain people. “Don’t worry. I won’t hold you to—”

Lando adjusted Dee and, when he was satisfied that his grip was secure, raised his hand to forego Han’s argument. At least that was what Han presumed he was doing. It certainly shut Han up. And it sent a flutter of anticipation through Han as he tried to imagine what Lando would say.

“Now you’re being a dick,” was what he said.

And Han couldn’t even be the least bit surprised at that, no. That sounded exactly like what Lando would say on that to him, even with his lips as pink as they were, skin as warm to the touch as it was. This is how they were. They very occasionally insulted each other. And even so, Han felt a warmth bloom inside of him as well. He perhaps didn’t have to know exactly what Lando meant—in fact, he rarely did, Lando’s mind worked in such a way that half the fun was trying to figure out just what he was thinking and how much trouble it would get Han into in the process—but he didn’t think it was bad.

Han knew exactly what Lando sounded like when he was genuinely unhappy with him; it wasn’t some grand secret. And he wouldn’t have bothered calling Han names.

“I want you to hold me to something, Han,” Lando added, which explained things not at all. But it was enough that the breath seized in Han’s lungs as he parsed what it meant. He had to know what he was asking, what he was suggesting. Right? Somehow he’d figured Han out and…? “I’ve seen the way you look at me. I’m not completely incapable of figuring you out.”

“I’m not sure I know what you mean,” Han tried anyway, searching for a hole that Lando could wriggle through. This was about the only safety measure he was willing to engage here. If Lando wanted to go for this, Han was willing to say kriff it, let’s go.

“I felt the way you kissed me, too, you bantha-headed jerk.”

Han bit back a smile. “What is this, grade school?” Then, he ducked his head and wondered if he should ask the question that first came to mind.

“You’re pretty dense,” Lando said, “but that’s okay. I think I can live with that.”

Han’s stomach took up residence somewhere in his chest, dislodging just about everything else as he considered the very real possibility that he was a bantha-headed jerk. How had he managed to get Lando so wrong if he wasn’t? It startled him to think he’d missed the fact that Lando might want to kiss him under any circumstances and these ones, where Han hadn’t done anything even remotely interesting or helpful, made it even more unusual. “I—sure? That’s good. I’m—glad.”

Lando’s eyebrow arched even higher on his forehead. “That’s good,” he said in a drawl. “I’d hate for you to—”

Dee took the opportunity to belt out a wailing scream, shattering the moment and Han’s eardrums besides. He wasn’t sure he could blame Dee. He kind of wanted to cry, too. Not for any particular reason beyond not understanding just what in the hell was going on here, but still. Lando, apparently emboldened by how long the kid had been with them, or perhaps inspired by the fact that Han hadn’t managed to damage the kid in any way, placed a soothing hand on the kid’s back and rocked him until he calmed again.

“You picked that up pretty quick,” Han pointed out, perhaps glad for the reprieve, perhaps a little disappointed. A part of him wanted to figure out just what in the hell had gotten into Lando, what he meant and what he wanted, but the kid had to come first. Wasn’t like it would be that long before there would be nothing to distract Lando or Han from one another anyway. As he thought about that fact, he wasn’t certain how he felt about it. Intrigued, yes. Excited, sure. Anxious, hell yeah. Nervous, you bet.

He tried to keep his cool, but all he could manage was a discreet swipe of his hands down his trousers as his palms began to sweat.

“I had a decent teacher, I guess,” Lando said, unaware of any of it or politely ignoring it. “Looks like you’ve got some hidden depths.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Han answered. “I’m a real man of mystery.”

Lando threw him an amused glance and them made a shushing sound at Dee. Miraculously, it actually worked, though he continued grumbling for a few moments. “Do you think he’s hungry?”

“Could be.” This wasn’t exactly his specialty, admittedly. His first instinct was to say they were always hungry. Because the kids back on Corellia never weren’t. But Dee wasn’t on Corellia. And, in fact, had just eaten a little bit ago. “Probably wouldn’t hurt to give it a shot.”

Wry, Lando rolled his eyes and got to work, even managing to feed the kid with expert ease now. And Han wasn’t the least bit surprised. Lando was smart and capable and picked things up quickly and easily. It would’ve been more surprising if he didn’t figure it out and grow in confidence. It just shouldn’t have made Han feel as gooey about it as he did, like this was something they now shared, something nice for once, something that Han actually wanted to share. They were smugglers and gamblers; there was no place for a kid in that. And even so, Han could see it clearly how good it could be.

Utter, utter nonsense.

Even if they did… do whatever it was Lando seemed to be implying he wanted, there was no guarantee they’d ever reach a point of stability where such a thing was possible. Or that they’d even agree they’d want that. He should just enjoy this for what it was, even this bit, as Lando gave Dee a bottle of the formula they’d picked up on the way back. Just about the only bit of formula in the entire city that seemed fit to be consume. Maybe Keridan had bought it all. Or maybe he had his own supply. Han sure hoped so. Didn’t want the kid going hungry.

Han shook his head. He couldn’t be thinking like that, like it was his kid to take care of, like that was something he wanted with Lando right at this very moment. The thought was absurd. Lando didn’t even like kids as far as Han knew and Han certainly didn’t. Not really. Not when he saw them randomly on the street anyway. Because if that was the case, he’d have known he liked them a long, long, long time ago.

“You’re thinking too much again,” Lando said. “That always gets you into trouble.”

“And not thinking enough got you into trouble, I guess. We can’t always win.”

Lando snorted. “I think we can. In this instance anyway.” He turned and looked at Han. “If I have to be entirely crass about it, seeing you today made me think…” For a moment, he narrowed his eyes, got a dreamy look in them that Han kinda sorta liked. It made Han hold his breath a little as he waited for Lando to finish. “Maybe.”

And then he waggled his eyebrows and Han couldn’t help but laugh. He’d got Lando, had to have done. Even if he was trying to play it cool. “You’re a real old-fashioned romantic, Lando. Let it never be said otherwise.”

“I don’t think anyone would. But thanks. It’s good to know I have your approval.”

Han decided—out of the blue, the way he always did—to just say what he meant for once in his life. And not just when his ass was on the line with someone like Jabba the Hutt and he had to play for time and give up the truth and spin it in a way that wouldn’t get him killed. “You could have more than that if you wanted it.”

Even though Lando wasn’t likely to put a bounty on his head, he felt the same twisting dread and adrenaline rush as when he tried to appease his crime syndicate contacts.

Eyes lighting up in that real pretty way they did, Lando leaned over and brushed his mouth briefly across Han’s again, much to the kid’s consternation. “I’ll take it,” Lando said, letting his voice go husky like it sometimes got when he was trying to be impressive and narrate his own adventures at the same time. As much as Han might’ve hated it, it worked, too. Probably too well. But maybe he could keep that bit to himself for the time being. Lando glanced down at the kid and smirked. “Maybe once we return the kid to Keridan.”

Han tried to hide his grin, knew he probably looked like a goof, but he couldn’t stop himself. Reached out, he pressed his fingers against Dee’s forehead. “Yeah,” he said, “that sounds like a plan.”

If he maybe asked Lando later if they might be able to see Dee again, that was entirely his business. And nobody had to know except for Lando and him.


End file.
